Taylor Green wasted no time introducing himself to Major League Baseball pitching.
After being called up by the Milwaukee Brewers from Triple-A Nashville on aug. 27, the Courtenay native saw his first action in The Bigs on Aug. 31 when he entered the Brewers' game against the St. Louis Cardinals in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Leading off the frame, the 24-year-old left-handed hitter drove a two-strike, Jack Westbrook offering into right field to record a single in his first MLB at bat. Green's new teammates all signed the ball, but making the moment even more special was having his parents Bill and Jackie at Miller Park to witness the special occasion.
The five-foot-11, 200-pound third baseman found out between innings that he would get his first shot at major league pitching, pinch hitting for pitcher Randy Wolf. The former Parksville Royals stalwart is eligible for post-season play. (The Brewers lead the NL Central by 7.5 games over the Cards).
Manager Ron Roenicke said Green will be used to shore up the bench and may get spot starts in place of Casey McGehee against a right-handed pitcher if McGehee doesn't have good numbers against him. "I don't want to bring him up here and then just never play him," Roenicke told an AP reporter.
Meanwhile, the impressive stats that earned Green a trip to The Bigs also earned him a spot on the 2011 All-Pacific Coast League Team. The hard-hitting infielder batted .336 (141-for-420) with 36 doubles, 22 home runs, 88 RBIs, and 74 runs scored in 120 games with the Sounds this season. He led Nashville with 47 multiple-hit efforts and was second on the club with 19 multiple-RBI games.
At the time of his promotion, he ranked 5th in the PCL with a team-best .336 average, was tied for 6th with his team-leading 36 doubles, placed 8th in slugging (.589), and was 13th in the league with 88 RBIs.
During his time with Double-A Huntsville (three games) and the Sounds this summer, Green established new single-season career highs in several categories: home runs (22), doubles (37), RBIs (91), runs scored (76), hits (145), and batting average (.336).
The All-PCL selection is the latest in a string of honors bestowed upon Green this season. He was named the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Month in June and July.
From June 1 until his departure from Nashville on Aug. 27, Green led the Sounds with a .377 average (107-for-284 and 2nd in the PCL over that stretch), 69 RBIs (led PCL), 107 hits (2nd in PCL), and 44 extra-base hits (T-2nd in PCL).
Season highlights include: recording an extra-base hit in 10 consecutive games from June 4-15 (4 HR, 7 2B), the 2nd-longest such streak in the PCL since 2005, matching a Sounds single-game record with five runs scored and tying his own career high with six RBIs during a 4-for-4, two-homer evening on July 28 at Oklahoma City, and belting Nashville's only two grand slams of 2011 (June 5 at New Orleans, July 11 at Albuquerque).
The All-PCL squad is selected annually through voting by the league's managers and media representatives. Green is the first Sound to be recognized on the All-PCL team since 2009, when shortstop Alcides Escobar was elected.
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